Category Archives: Homes Sold Tenafly

It’s a fact that the housing market in Tenafly is doing great. Homes are selling at a brisk rate, though most are under-priced so they should sell fast. However…

Is the market doing great in all price ranges?

Are all homes selling fast?

Are all homes selling for their optimum price?

This is something you can’t possibly figure out without understanding the facts.

Tenafly homes for sale and sold…click to enlarge chart

Here’s some quick facts about the homes that are presently for sale in Tenafly, and have been sold over the past few years.

The market for homes for sale in Tenafly has been incredibly active for homes priced below $1 million

However as you can see by the last 2 items in each price range (2014 sold to date & 2014 homes for sale), the numbers don’t look so great, because the inventory for the number of homes for sale has greatly diminished.

Below $500k there are only 3 homes for sale

From $500-799k there is only 18 homes for sale…and most of those homes are outdated and are in dire need of major home renovations

$800-999k there ore only 16 homes for sale

In the near future there will be no homes in Tenafly that are worth less than $500k

More facts:

in 2013 there was a approx a 50% decrease in the number of home sold in Tenafly below $500k, because of a lack of inventory…and this slow pace will continue well into the future until there are no homes in this price range

The same holds true for homes priced between $500-799k. A dwindling supply will cause prices to rise

Homes priced between $800-999k will move up into the next price bracket

This may seem like a lot of homes are for sale, but compared to the number of homes that have sold in Tenafly in the past several years, there aren’t nearly enough homes for sale to fill the demand.

How does this affect home sales in Tenafly and in the surrounding towns?

Will potential home buyers who are mostly interested in Tenafly move up to the next price range…which puts an even greater premium on homes in the lower price range

Or will they seriously consider buying a home in one of the surrounding towns…which also creates higher prices for those towns because of their demand

will the next price level increase in value because of this new demand?

The answer is yes to everything.

The demand is so great for homes priced below $1 million, and these homes are worth more because of it…even for the wort homes in that price range.

All of these homes will need to be renovated or retrofitted to meet today’s lifestyle needs.

Over the next few weeks, Steven will begin a video series containing: market updates, how to market your home to attract buyers and how to sell your home faster and for a higher price, how to buy the right home and how to go about the renovation process with the least amount of headaches…and whatever else comes to mind. Oh, I’m also going to do a video series where I rate the homes for sale. This will all be done from the consumers POV. It’s going to be fun!

As you can see from the chart 2011-2013 were great years for home sales below $1 million…it would have even been better if there was enough inventory for all of the people who wanted homes in this price range. Cresskill and Closter should be happy for getting the spillover sales from Tenafly.

Advice: Run from every realtor who preaches “price it right”, because your home is worth more than they think it’s worth. They don’t understand these facts (unless they’re reading this blog) and so many homes were listed and sold for far less than they should have been

Your home is worth more than it was last year, the year before, the year before…and all the way back to 2007…and by a large percentage. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

In the next few posts I will address the following:

Tenafly home sales priced $1-2 Million

Tenafly’s ultra luxury home market

There’s a lot going on in these price ranges, and it’s not all good news.

As always. let us know what you think.

Disclaimer: Steven Konefsky is a builder…inc renovations, real estate developer, design consultant, real estate marketing genius, and he sells real estate through Promiment Properties Sotheby’s International in Tenafly NJ. If you have any real estate related questions you can make comments on this blog or Steven can be reached at 201.522.5256 and at Snkonefsky@gmail.com

As promised…here are the sales stats for homes sold in Tenafly…comparing 2013 to 2012.

The numbers aren’t what one would expect…but there’s a good reason:

Tenafly has been experiencing a shortage of inventory of homes priced below $1 million on the East Hill…and when there’s no inventory, then the sales numbers take a hit.

The number of homes sold in 2013 decreased by 47% compared to the same time frame in 2012…Jan, Feb March…for homes priced below $1 million. All due to a shortage of inventory

The number of home sales in Tenafly decreased by 60% for homes priced above $1.5 million 2013/2012…because there is an over supply of homes in this price range. The higher you go above $1.5m the higher the inventory

However…before everyone starts thinking that I lost it mentally…from January-March 2013 , here’s what has been happening with sales in Tenafly…that have yet to be declared “SOLD”

9 homes sold in Tenafly priced below $1 million

7 homes sold in Tenafly priced between $1.0M-$1.5M

2 homes were sold above $1.5M

I just want to point out something regarding all the talk about inventory,whether it be high or low:

Inventory has almost nothing to do with sales activity…regardless of the inventory, people who are looking to buy a home will still look for homes

Even though the inventory levels ar considered low, thre’s still a lot of homes for sale…so not everything is sold or is selling…for whatever reason

If more homes are suddenly listed for sale, it doesn’t mean that they will sell. The housing market will not suddenly get better, and it will not go back to where it once was, for a variety of reasons: unemployment is still high, savings are lower than needed, and some people will now only rent

Rental apartments are being planned and built by the thousands in Bergen and Hudson Counties, and this will eventually hurt home sales

The same sales trends are taking place for home sales throughout all of Bergen County

The market is what it is, but these are the numbers for Tenafly, and Tenafly is still the hottest and most desirable market in our region.

Here’s a detailed look at the stats for homes sales in Tenafly 2001-2012

No where else will you find such detailed information. This is everything sellers and buyers need to know, but no one wants you to have it…except for me.

Misleading numbers and commentary can lead to sellers and buyers to make huge mistakes…and that’s not good for anyone.

Even though the sales stats for Tenafly are down thus far in 2013, doesn’t mean that Tenafly isn’t the hottest market around…because it is.

As I’ve mentioned in past posts…if your home is priced below $1 million, then it’s time for you to raise your price….up to 10%. The demand is huge and the inventory has dried up in certain price ranges and neighborhoods.

It’s now a sellers market, and that’s great news for everyone, including buyers.

I’d rather buy a home in an upturning market, rather than taking the risk in a downward spiraling as we’ve lived through since 2006 (the market in Tenafly crashed in 2006…two years prior to the national crash…it’s all in the charts).

I know the charts are colorful…and it’s done to grab your attention

Sellers:

If you want to sell your home for the highest price possible, then this information is what you need to know. You’ll see where the sales prices are, and where they’re not

Not every price range performs as well as, or as bad as all the other price points

Buyers:

What is the best or worst price range to invest your money…this is something you need to know before you buy a home

Some price points are doing great and others are horrible…in the same town

It’s one thing for agents to tell you that the market is doing great…but is it?

Here’s the facts minus any commentary.

Let me know what you think is happening. I’m sure it’s not what you thought.

If you have any questions or want to chat about buying or selling a home, you can call me at 201.522.5256 or email me at skonefsky@me.com. I’m a licensed agent at Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International in Tenafly NJ. And if you check out the rest of the site you’ll see that I’m a home builder, real estate developer construction manager by trade…and I’m great at marketing real estate.

That’s big news for the Bergen County home sales, and in our specific case it’s big news for how this could affect future home sales in Tenafly, and luxury home sales in Alpine and Saddle River…because retail spending drives about 70% of economic activity.

When consumers begin to cut back on retail spending, it creates a ripple effect on home sales

An example of just how volatile the local housing market is are the home sales in Tenafly…in which more homes are sold in Tenafly per year compared to the surrounding towns by up to 500%. This once stable heaven of home ownership, home sales are down 31% Y/Y compared to 2012

“Consumers cut back spending across a wide range of categories”

With all the hoopla surrounding the calls announcing a housing recovery, people need to take a few steps back to analyze what is happening in their local markets, where its not always what it seems. Sure home sales are up in Bergen County…but that’s ONLY the case for homes priced below $1M. The higher you go above $1M the worse the market becomes, but that’s something realtors don’t like to talk about.

The US consumer looks a little less resilient, an economist at JP Morgan Chase

And why isn’t anyone focusing on other items that affect local home sales on the negative side. Can we have a housing recovery regardless of facts:

Forever increasing property taxes in suburban New Jersey

A still unacceptable unemployment forecast…does anyone really think that we can have a real recovery with so many unemployed people. Inst this some of what brought us to a crash and are keeping us from an overall economic recovery?

New rental complexes are sprouting up in Bergen and Hudson counties. And every rental takes away from home sales

The decline of the suburbs and the rise of urban areas that are more conducive to today’s consumers

And incredible number of home sales and rentals in New York City, and increasing home prices are keeping people IN the city, rather than fleeing to the New Jersey and New York Suburbs

From my perspective, sales “declines” in Tenafly are happening for two reasons:

Tenafly has a property tax problem. Taxes keep increasing because the government and school boards can’t stop spending money. They don’t understand that most people don’t want to spend huge sums of money on real estate taxes…so sales of high priced homes, with high priced taxes take a hit. And that’s what we’re now experiencing

Homes at the high end of the market aren’t in huge demand anymore. It’s a factor of price, taxes, demographics. Today’s buyers are young and they’re buying in the suburbs because they have kids who are about to enter school. Move up buyers are very few and those who are moving up aren’t buying the typical 6,000 to 7,000 sf in your face Tenafly ego homes (though there are about 9 of these mega homes that were started in 2011 and are being completed). The ultra luxury market in Tenafly was great in 2011, but it’s not happening this year.

As you can see from the chart, Tenafly is more than holding its own with sales priced below $1 million. And let’s not forget that this is happening in every town…not just Tenafly.
Next post I’ll dive deeper into the data, and provide a better picture of the market…without any of the industry spin

The big news in Tenafly, is that the real estate market hit a major road block in September.

Better put, it hit a brick wall!

Tenafly Home Sales Report 2012

Home sales decreased 7% in 2012

Home sales year to year for September decreased a whopping 65%

The sales volume for homes sold decreased 18%

For a town that has had the hottest market in the region for a long time, this is big news, and it couldn’t come at a worst time. Going into the end of year market the market tends to dip off, and this may create even fewer sales going forward.

Stay tuned for more data and analysis.

I can’t wait to see what happened in the neighboring towns. Care to guess?

For those you you (including me) who complain about our insanely high property taxes in Tenafly, here’s some great news pointing out how a majority of our taxes are being spent to the benefit of our community and especially for our children. And this is why Tenafly is the hottest home market in the region, and people want to live in Tenafly regardless of our ever increasing property taxes.. Home sales in Tenafly are blowing away all of the other town by a huge margin with the number of home sales, as well as in the dollar volume of sales.

New Jersey Monthly magazine just published it’s yearly school rating for New Jersey…NJ’s Top Public High Schools…and for the second year in a row Tenafly High School is the #3 High School in the State!

This is a big deal!

Since I started building homes in Tenafly in 1997, and moved here in 1998, the Tenafly school system has been touted as one of the best school systems in the State. Not having had kids in the school system until 2003, this hype really didn’t mean that much to me, other than a marketing tool to aid me in selling the homes I was building…and selling the Tenafly school system was the key to making sales. But now that both of my girls are in the system, I’m bow getting my money’s worth.

Everyone moves to Tenafly specifically for the great school system that we have in place…and have paid so dearly to create (and sometimes way too much money..but that’s for another post)

Because of our extravagant and sometimes unwarranted taxes, we have few, if anyone moving into Tenafly who don’t already have kids who are either school age, or darn close to it. Only stupid me lived here for 5 years prior to using the school…and it was an expensive wait. But now that I’m getting my money’s worth out of it, I’m happy.

The New jersey Monthly rating is a great acknowledgement of our school systems accomplishments at Tenafly High, but living it and being able to see it in action is a thousand times better.

It’s a great thing to see that both of my girls go to school and come home from school, with smiles on their face…and I see that with almost every kid when I drop them off every morning and pick them up from school. When you have happy kids, life becomes much easier.

It’s not to say that they don’t have lots of homework and the pressure of learning something new every day…because here is pressure. But all of the schools handle this amazingly well. Kids learn here!

Note: I have to take the opportunity to once again state that Tenafly is a hot market and is in big demand. Tenafly is a sellers market!

#3 rated high school in the State and one of the best overall school systems as well

highest number of home sales in the area

highest dollar home sales volume in the area

What more could Realtors ask for? And why aren’t they screaming this out and promoting it to the public?

For those of you who like to understand what’s really going on with the housing market in Bergen County, here’s some data for you to sink your teeth into.

For the 6th straight month in 2012 single family home sales has increased. Yes increased.

It’s time for every homeowner and seller to finally celebrate. The housing market is on a roll in Bergen County. Though the increase is not a all price points in every town the market has turned for the better. No, we’re not going back to anywhere near the pace of the high flying days, or to those lofty prices…but the market has stabilized (which it has been for several years, if anyone cared to look at the data).

Wi8th the exception of January 2012 for multi-family home sales, every month in all categories has seen an increase in home sales.

Tell me that’s not great!

In fact, in 2012 we have not seen one month where home sales have decreased.

The number of home sales in 2012 has increased by 11% over the same time period in 2011

The dollar volume for home sales also increased by 7% over 2011

The average price for the homes sold decreased by 4%, but that was all due to sluggish sales at the luxury end of the market, where for some bizarre reason 2011 was an incredible year for the luxury market…but now it’s cooled

Though home sales are way below the volume set during the peak years of 2011-2005, Bergen County has experienced a steady market for sales…given this new economy.

The market for multi-family home sales is equally impressive for 2012:

The number of units sold increased 14%

And the sales volume increased by 7%

The average sales price fell by 6%. but is due to a lack of inventory at the upper sales range, and we had in the past. Over time these units will invr5ease in vale because they’re newer and priced at a point that is more desirable to today’s buyers…either first time buyers or move down buyers

This is the new market. This is our new reality

No matter what happens, the number of home sales will not increase…even if Realtors continue to push sellers to cut their prices. More buyers are not coming into the market. And with the rise of new multi family construction, the rental market will take a huge bite out of future home sales.

We have experienced 5 years of incredibly discounted prices, and historically low interest rates, and the data proves that lower prices have not increased the volume of home sales in Bergen County. And if you have been a reader of my blog, the data also points to the same facts for Tenafly, Cresskill, Closter or other towns.

Lower price do not create sales.

Check out my other posts to see what’s happening with home sales for Tenafly, Alpine, Cresskill and other towns.

To date there have been 110 home sales in Tenafly. The next closest is 72 home sales in Englewood, and 55 home sales in Closter. That’s a 35% to 50% sales lead over it’s two nearest town

Tenafly has double + the dollar sales volume over its nearest rival…Englewood Cliffs (which is also on fire in 2012)

Since 2001 Tenafly has more home sales than 8 of its neighboring towns (except for 2006…Englewood)

Run from anyone who tells you that it’s all about price, because it’s not!

If you go by the average sales price date, Tenafly is #4 on the list (only because there has been a drop in the sales volume over $2 million in 2012)…and yet the sales volume has remained consistently high even after the market crashed in 2006…compared to all the other towns:

the sales volume far exceeds all the other towns by a whopping percentage

and property taxes are the highest in Tenafly

And none of this has changed the desirability for living in Tenafly…yet.

Prices did not come down in Tenafly!!

Every smart business person knows, that when your market or product is hot, you don’t lower your price…you raise it! Except if you’re a Realtor… who regardless of data to the contrary, still believe that lower prices create more sales…and that’s totally false.

We’ve had the lowest prices in a decade….and sales have been stable

We’ve also had the lowest interest rates in our lifetime, since the market crashed…and sales have NOT increased

The data shows that the only thing you get from lower prices…are lower prices. Not more sales!

The value of your home is dependent on the facts…not the industry pov.

Sorry, but I have to vent to someone about a home that recently sold and closed in Tenafly. This is a sale that could be a market killer in Tenafly…and I can’t believe what it sold for.

An incredibly beautiful 5,500 sf ultra luxury home on 1 acre, on Devriese Ct in Tenafly, was recently sold after a very long sales cycle. The home has everything and it is impeccable: from the pool to the beautifully designed landscaping and private property, and a sought after cul-de-sac…which is a rarity in Tenafly, this was a perfect home.

Sorry for the low res photos, but that what you mostly get on the njmls. I think they take the pictures with cvs disposable cameras. And it’s my belief that low quality content has a negative impact on sales prices. Marketing your home like kmart won’t bring Neiman’s prices

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Originally listed: 10/1/10 at $2,895,000

Sold for: $2,400,000

This home sold for LESS THAN the cost to build this same home anywhere else in Tenafly.

Land value is easily…$1,600,000

Cost to build at a bare bones minimum…$1,200,000

Landscaping and pool and driveway…$250,000

The minimum cost to rebuild this home, including the land is…$3,050,000 at the minimum!

I don’t care what anyone says…but this is what happens when you don’t market a home in a way that brings out it’s real value.

It’s a market killer because this is the home that other sales and appraisals will be compared to.

If this is all a Realtor can get for a fantastic home on one acre of property in the hottest town in the region, then we have to be concerned about the values of other homes in Tenafly that are for sale.

This price screws everyone in Tenafly who not only wants to sell their home, but also for those who want to refinance their home. This sale hurt every home in town, especially all the homes priced above $2.0M. And the Realtors are going to start blaming the appraisers. But sorry, but this one is on the Realtors. If this is the best we can do on a fantastic home, then I shudder what will happen to anything less than fantastic. It just proves that anyone can sell a home if you price it for less than its cost.